Life-threatening risks, shirking of responsibility by medical teams, lack of proper medical examination before surgery: The Ministry of Health says that Israelis returning from Turkey are increasingly suffering serious complications due to botched medical procedures. Reporting. Three Israeli women share their experiences in the operating room and the subsequent suffering that resulted in them being hospitalized for weeks or even months in their home country of Israel.
Israeli plastic surgeons are warning the public about the implications ahead of the summer months when many Israelis are expected to fly to Turkey for quick and inexpensive surgeries and treatments. They acknowledge that all medical facilities, including those in Israel, make mistakes from time to time, but argue that what sets them apart from the Turkish facility is that they accompany patients through critical stages of the recovery process. .
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Although the Ministry of Health does not have reliable data on the exact number of complications, an assessment carried out by Ynet found that many Israeli hospitals have reported high rates of complications as a result of popular surgeries such as liposuction and tummy tucks. The patient is currently being treated or has recently been treated. , and breast augmentation, reduction, or lifting.
Smadar Yaakov, 54, from Jerusalem, underwent liposuction, tummy tuck and butt lift surgery in November.
“In Turkey, no one asked me what I should emphasize,” Yaakov recalls. “They didn’t ask me anything about my surgical history or my past problems. When I arrived at the hospital, they took me to a room where they ran all sorts of tests. When I took him to the hospital, when I went to the operating room, I realized that something was wrong, so I was put in an elevator, and when I went down, the door opened and I went directly into the operating room.
Soon the anesthesia came, they asked me one question and gave me anesthesia. I came out of the operating room at about 8 or 9 at night and I was alone there. Soon, before I had recovered, the nurses came and told me to stand up. I told them I couldn’t stand, only after I had recovered. At one point, they forcefully lifted me out of the bed and we walked down the hallway with them supporting me.”
“The next day, the transport had already taken me back to the hotel, but the area from my groin to my knee was still open. They sent me back with a bandage and a drain, and they showed me how to use it. As far as I’m concerned, in Turkey they just threw me in a hotel room and I passed out twice, but only after I begged that I wasn’t feeling well did a nurse come to my hotel room. He arrived and brought a sugar cube. That’s what he gave me.”
But the real nightmare began after Yaakov returned home. “A few days later they called an ambulance for me and took me to Hadassah Einkerem Hospital. That’s when the real story began. My body was in severe and very dangerous condition. I had an infection that led to fluid buildup. I’ve been hospitalized four times since then.”
“I’m sure there are good doctors in Turkey, but they have to examine themselves very carefully. This is our life. We go into the operating room, we are fully anesthetized, but we don’t know what is going to happen to us. Looking back, I would not have done the operation.”
“I’ve given birth before, but this is my first time and I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel yet. I was recently diagnosed with a disease called lymphedema. Lymphedema was present even before the surgery. It’s detectable and surgery in this condition is strictly prohibited. I wish they would have checked it out. My leg is very swollen and I am undergoing very difficult recovery. The damage will be impossible. The scars will remain.”
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Yaakov sends a clear message: “Be careful.” “I’m sure there are good doctors in Turkey, but they need to examine themselves very carefully,” she said. “This is our life. We go into the operating room, they completely anesthetize us, and we don’t know what they’re going to do to us. In hindsight, we don’t know what they’re going to do to us. I wouldn’t have done that.”
Dr. Yaakov Friend, director of plastic surgery at Wolfson Hospital, said: “Recently, we have encountered cases in which patients who underwent surgery developed lung infections, making the surgery immediately life-threatening.”
“Through conversations with doctors in other hospitals, not just in the Central Region, we come across similar complications characterized by lengthy and complex operations that do not take into account the medical background of the patients, such as smoking and diabetes, which are known risk factors. However, doctors in Turkey do not refrain from these operations.”
Yael Ohana, 52, from Holon: Had tummy tuck surgery in December.
“I was on vacation in Turkey, and I happened to meet someone involved in surgery,” she says at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, where she is admitted to the Department of Plastic Surgery under the close supervision of Professor Joseph. I said it in a conversation. Haiku, Director of Plastic Surgery.
“My dream for the past 30 years has been to get a slimmer stomach. When I arrived for my appointment with my doctor, I told him I had COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). told me that there is no problem with tightening my stomach. Please undergo surgery in my condition.
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tummy tuck
(Photo: Shutterstock)
“I went back to Israel, got ready and flew to Turkey. Before going into the operating room, I told the anesthesiologist that I had smoked before. He laughed and said everything was fine. After the surgery, which lasted five and a half hours, everything changed quickly and today I learned that it is forbidden for COPD patients to be under anesthesia for this long. My lungs were completely blocked and I was in critical condition.
“They put me on very strong antibiotics and all the while we were in contact with doctors in Israel. Then they put me on a special flight with an oxygen balloon because of my lungs. I went straight from the airport.” After being discharged from the hospital, the wound in my abdomen ruptured, so I returned to Sheba, underwent surgery, and continued to receive treatment once a week. At Shiva.
In the end, I arrived with an infection, but Professor Huyck said I would not leave until the wound was closed. I am now walking on my own, but this is not a normal thing as I have been in this condition for 5 months. Currently, my condition is good, but I am still hospitalized here. ”
“Today I learned that COPD patients are prohibited from being under anesthesia for such a long time. My oxygen saturation had dropped to 36 and I was practically clinically dead. My lungs were completely blocked and I was in critical condition.”
In her words: “In Turkey, everyone went for surgery, and I operated on it like a fool. In Israel, they would never operate on me with my condition. The doctors here… They said they didn’t know who was trying to kill me.” They kept me sedated for five and a half hours, and it was like divine intervention was watching over me, knowing that they were going to take control of my life. I want people to know that I spent six months and I’m still not healthy and I’m not healthy. It’s a scar for life and for the soul, and I hope people don’t go blind or be tempted by cheap stuff. ”
Professor Haik elaborated on the treatment Ohana received in Turkey, saying: “More and more women are coming to us after these treatments. I can’t say anything bad about Turkish surgeons, but Israelis… They go to surgeons through intermediaries. No one cares.” Even basic things like past illnesses or smoking, which can put your life at risk, are done in an unorganized way, with no explanation or preparation.
After two or three days, they are sent home and the most important thing is that they have no insurance. If something life-threatening happens there, at some point they have to pay for it themselves because insurance doesn’t cover it.”
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Professor Josef Heik
(Photo: Sheba Medical Center)
Rinat (pseudonym), 58 years old, from northern Israel: Had implant replacement and breast augmentation surgery in April.
“I would not recommend it to anyone considering surgery in Turkey,” she warned. It was just three days after she was discharged from a long hospital stay at Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya. “The surgeon operated on us and was supposed to remove the drain three days later, but he hadn’t seen us at that stage. “We were discharged from hospital the day after the operation, but after three days we were supposed to have the drain removed. I started bleeding after a few days. I had had an implant before, but I hadn’t had it lifted. I thought I might need to close the wound, so I went back to Israel a week later.
“Then I started having vomiting and nausea. I didn’t pay attention to it because I thought I had eaten something bad, but then my chest started to swell and hurt. I went to the hospital and found out it was caused by the antibiotics. It turns out that the treatment I received in Turkey did not match the bacteria I was exposed to. I was in pain for almost a month after the surgery. Thankfully, the treatment I received in Israel was excellent.
“I would never recommend anyone go through what I went through,” she declares. “There’s no follow-up, no doctors, no mom and dad, no one to turn to. This is very important and complicated. Looking back now, I don’t think I would have done that.” I wouldn’t have done it. There are complications in Israel too, but I have my mom and dad here.”
According to Dr. Leonid Kogan, head of the plastic surgery department who treated her, Rinat came to the hospital with a breast infection: “In Israel, anyone who gets into trouble has an address. In such cases, we have no documentation and we don’t know what was done or what surgical techniques were used. Recently, we also treated a patient who underwent an operation that required intensive treatment and countless blood transfusions.”
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Dr. Leonid Kogan
(Photo: Roni Albert)
“People who undergo surgery here go back to the doctor who performed the surgery. There are good doctors in Turkey, but their prices are not as low as we know. I don’t think that’s the case.” People do these surgeries in that way and don’t think that the surgery starts until it’s done, and if there are complications, medical insurance won’t allow you to go back there. It’s impossible. Always know what to do to repair damage. Without a doubt, we expect to see more complications in the coming months as more people undergo surgery in the summer. ”
